I heard Kelser say that he would be going back down to help Souix Falls in their playoffs. I know Flip played him 34 mins tonight and can put him on the playoff roster, but it may be too late to see if he wants to give him any playoff minutes unless it is a blowout.

He may be this years Human Victory Cigar and lets hope that we have 16 of them!!

Johnson has been dominating the developmental league and blocked six Philadelphia shots, but also missed nine of 12 shots and committed five fouls. On one possession, he had two shots blocked by Samuel Dalembert in a span of five seconds.

"Amir's still got a ways to go," Saunders said. "During one timeout, Chauncey (Billups) hit him on the top of the head and reminded him that this isn't the NBDL. He can't just launch shots over everyone in this league."

Johnson had already figured that out. "It was pretty tough out there -- this isn't like the D-League," he said. "It's taken me two years to get this comfortable with my game, and I have to keep going."

Can AJ prove C-Bill wrong and turn the NBA into his personal D-League?

Amir's night
The only point of interest for the Pistons was the play of second-year forward Amir Johnson .

He nearly posted a triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks), but he almost fouled out and missed nine of his 12 shots.
"He came to the bench, and Chauncey hit him on the head and said, 'This ain't the D-League,' " Saunders said.

Johnson had his first two shots blocked by Samuel Dalembert . But he retrieved the second before it went out of bounds, and kicked it out to Hamilton who swished a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.

"This was a wake-up call for him," Billups said. "It let him know he ain't in the D-League anymore. Those two shots he got blocked were probably buckets in the D-League. But he adjusted, and he was great."

Johnson is taking his lessons well. "Like 'Sheed told me, you can't shoot over people like you can in the D-League," Johnson said. "It took me two years to get to the level where my game is now. "I am getting better and better, and along the way I am starting to feel more comfortable."

Bounce him back and forth. Finishing the Pistons season against real NBA talent who is equally athletic is very important. In addition he is also getting top level coaching with high short term expectations.

Once our reg season ends return him to the DL playoffs. I bet he will return with a renewed commitment to improve as opposed to simply garnering gaudy numbers.

Finally, sit him on our sideline in suit & tie as a spectator for the rest of our playoff run. Come October, Amir will give Nazr all he can handle.

It is very important to realize that a shot you think is working will actually get blocked in the NBA. Now he knows. But what is he going to do back in the D-League? Make a more difficult shot than is necessary to practice? Shoot a skyhook over a 6'8" unathletic defender when he could just throw it down?

I think the D-League has been valuable for him to give him perspective and overall confidence in his abilities, but it has also given him a bit of false confidence in what works and what doesn't.

Overall, I'm very impressed by his tenacity, confidence, and quickness. This dude is fast running and jumping. As we know more than any other fans out there, big men can look really bad as they are going through the transition to the NBA game.

One other thought. His D may have been shaky, but he did block 6 shots.

It is very important to realize that a shot you think is working will actually get blocked in the NBA. Now he knows. But what is he going to do back in the D-League? Make a more difficult shot than is necessary to practice? Shoot a skyhook over a 6'8" unathletic defender when he could just throw it down?

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Now, in the DL he will pay closer attention to detail. Getting two shots blocked makes him reconsider the value of proper footwork, selling the fake, maintaining body contact, using a bump to get space .....

Hopefully Amir won't be playing with the mindset of beating scrubbs anymore.

I say put AJ on the roster for the playoffs. Right now he is the 2nd, behind Dyess, or maybe even the best rebounder that the Pistons have. He can also make his free throws and is agressive and explosive. He can hopefully develop his jump shot over the summer.

I say put him on the playoff roster and play him as appropriate. Even if he only gets 5 minutes a game in the NBA playoffs that will be more beneficial, to the Pistons and to him than getting 35 minutes a game in the D-League playoffs.

You got to take a chance if you want the gain.

Waiting for him to be NBA perfect before they keep on the roster would be just stupid. His desire, athleticism and talent makes him deserving of a spot on the playoff roster.

I'm sure a large % of the purpose behind his presence and PT boils down to $$$$$$$$ negotiations.

Like Murph, I find it kinda exciting to have a new stud in the stable. While Delfino, JMax and to a much lesser degree Blalock appear to have a future in the Association, none are real jewels. AJ on the other hand has size, mobility, raw skillz and gumption. (to borrow a term from Hatter)

I say put AJ on the roster for the playoffs. Right now he is the 2nd, behind Dyess, or maybe even the best rebounder that the Pistons have. He can also make his free throws and is agressive and explosive. He can hopefully develop his jump shot over the summer.

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What would that do to Nazr's trade value? Or are we stuck with him for the long haul?

What would that do to Nazr's trade value? Or are we stuck with him for the long haul?

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It seems like you are thinking that AJ can not help us win during the playoffs.

If that is your thinking than I understand your position and would also play the money game here.

But I believe that AJ can help us win during the playoffs. I am not sure how adding a guy to the roster who could possibly be the best rebounder could hurt us. Even if he gets whistled for a lot of fouls I believe his agrerssive going to the glass will rub off on our other bigs and we will have a net gain from his presence on the playoff roster.

If we are that concerned about it decreasing Nazr's trade value we can always leave Davis off the roster. He has no trade value at all. Of course he could help us against The Diesel if we have to face him during the playoffs. Other than that I would rather see AJ out there than Grandpa Davis. After all this ain't the Senior League Playoffs we are talking about.

I really enjoy watching AJ's progress! I think being on the playoff roster could be one important experience for him since this is far more special than the last games of the regular season or garbage time.
I also think he could be the type of x- factor Tayshaun was some years ago. We all know that Flip isn't a guy who has tons of ideas but adding Johnson as a suprising piece would be a good one.

I really enjoy watching AJ's progress! I think being on the playoff roster could be one important experience for him since this is far more special than the last games of the regular season or garbage time.
I also think he could be the type of x- factor Tayshaun was some years ago. We all know that Flip isn't a guy who has tons of ideas but adding Johnson as a suprising piece would be a good one.

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I was thinking exactly the same thing Ralphi. I see a lot we can gain by trying this and I don't see what we have to lose by switching.
Amir could change the momentum of a playoff game by swatting a couple of shots away.

But you know, Flip seems the conservative type to me, and I don't think there is much hope for it to occur.

I was very encouraged by Amir's play last night. I know some people were somewhat deflated by the overall lack of effort by the team and Amir's misses, but I think if we had won that game folks would be very excited and enthusiastic about his performance.

It seems like you are thinking that AJ can not help us win during the playoffs...

...Other than that I would rather see AJ out there than Grandpa Davis. After all this ain't the Senior League Playoffs we are talking about.

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I think AJ could help, but won't get the chance even if he is on the roster. The coach doesnt' have confidence in him and he hasn't been integrated into the scheme. So given that, I don't want to hurt the perceived value of Nazr... since we have him signed up for a long time.

On Davis... this is one of my biggest dissapointments this season. When he has played, he has looked twice as good as I thought he would. But then he doesn't play for 20 game stretches. He's our toughest player, rebounds, plays great D, and doesn't demand the ball on offense... ala Ben Wallace.

As well as Webber has played (and it has been going down hill), I'm still not convinced that the starting 5 with Webber is a better playoff team than the starting 5 with Davis.

It won't happen, but I think Webber adds more to our bench unit than he does to our starting unit. The opposite is true with DD. It's all about redundancy. You don't need a defensive specialist with the bench unit of Lindsey D. Hunter and Carlos D-fino. And you don't need a "point" center with all the smart, but soft, starters on our team.